Ceiling fan and method of manufacture

ABSTRACT

A fan having an outer circumferential support with a plurality of radial penetrations. An inner circumferential support having a plurality of radial penetrations. A plurality of blades, each coupled to the outer circumferential support and the inner circumferential support. A plurality of radial supports, each radial support extending through a penetration of the inner circumferential support and a penetration of the outer circumferential support.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to ceiling fans, and morespecifically to a ceiling fan having an improved design and method ofmanufacture.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Ceiling fans are typically designed to reduce weight. As such, the useof extraneous ornamental features is typically avoided, because they addunnecessary weight.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A fan having an outer circumferential support with a plurality of radialpenetrations. An inner circumferential support having a plurality ofradial penetrations. A plurality of blades, each coupled to the outercircumferential support and the inner circumferential support. Aplurality of radial supports, each radial support extending through apenetration of the inner circumferential support and a penetration ofthe outer circumferential support.

Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponexamination of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, features, andadvantages be included within this description, be within the scope ofthe present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to thefollowing drawings. The components in the drawings may be to scale, butemphasis is placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of thepresent disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numeralsdesignate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a ceiling fan in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a side view of fan from a first side, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are second, third and fourth side views, respectively,showing additional circumferential positions around a ceiling fan;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of a ceiling fan showing blades underneath anouter circumferential support, an inner circumferential support and aradial support;

FIG. 7 is a top view of a ceiling fan showing blades on top of an outercircumferential support, an inner circumferential support and a radialsupport;

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a hub in accordance with an exemplary embodimentof the present disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a diagram of a hub in accordance with an exemplary embodimentof the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the description that follows, like parts are marked throughout thespecification and drawings with the same reference numerals. The drawingfigures may be to scale and certain components can be shown ingeneralized or schematic form and identified by commercial designationsin the interest of clarity and conciseness.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a ceiling fan 100 in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure. Ceiling fan 100 includes blades102, outer circumferential support 104, inner circumferential support106, radial supports 108 and hub 110, each of which can be fabricatedfrom metal, polymers, wood or other suitable materials.

As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or”includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associatedlisted items. As used herein, phrases such as “between X and Y” and“between about X and Y” should be interpreted to include X and Y. Asused herein, phrases such as “between about X and Y” mean “between aboutX and about Y.” As used herein, phrases such as “from about X to Y” mean“from about X to about Y.”

Blades 102 are coupled to outer circumferential support 104 and innercircumferential support 106 by nuts 114 or other suitable mechanicalfasteners, such as rivets or welds. Radial supports 108 are insertedthrough a penetration in inner circumferential support 106, and attachedto hub 110 by welding, rivets, bolts or other suitable fasteners, or canalternatively be fabricated from a single piece, such as by casting,extrusion or in other suitable manners. Each blade 102 can be fabricatedseparately and attached to outer circumferential port 104 and innercircumferential support 106 in a suitable manner, such as by attaching afirst blade 102 to outer circumferential support 104 and innercircumferential support 106 with nuts 114 before attaching a secondblade 102 in the next circumferentially adjacent position, by attachingblades 102 at opposite circumferential locations, by attaching fourblades 102 at 90 degree offsets or in other suitable manners. In thismanner, a single person can assemble fan 100 at a remote location, orcan be assisted by one, two or more persons, who can each work inparallel on the assembly. Fan 100 can thus be easily shipped in piecesto an installation site and can then be assembled.

The shaft of motor 112 has a small circular mounting plate attached toit, about 2″ in diameter, which is also attached to a circular hub 110.Hub 110 has 6 holes in it, one for each radial support 108, and theradial supports 108 are attached with a nut onto hub 110. Each radialsupport 108 runs through a penetration in inner circumferential support106 and into outer circumferential support 104 where it is attached witha nut onto the threaded end again. Because fan 100 is being used in ahorizontal disposition instead of a vertical disposition, innercircumferential support 106 and outer circumferential support 104 can befabricated from hollow tubing, which can be square so as to provideadditional support. Furthermore, as fan 100 is being used for generatingcooling instead of transmitting torque from winds to generate motivepower (such as for typical applications of a windmill), the blades, 102,outer circumferential support 104 and inner circumferential support 106can be fabricated from aluminum, polymers or other light metals ormaterials, so as to only weigh 40 pounds or less.

FIG. 2 is a side view of fan 100 from a first side, in accordance withan exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2,each blade 102 has a leading edge 202 that extends outward from outercircumferential support 104, and an attachment edge 204 that is securedto outer circumferential support 104 by nut 114. FIG. 2 also shows motor206, ceiling support 208 and base 210.

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are second, third and fourth side views, respectively,showing additional circumferential positions around fan 100. Because fan100 is symmetric, each of FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are identical.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of fan 100 showing blades 102 underneath outercircumferential support 104, inner circumferential support 106 andradial support 108. As shown in FIG. 6, each radial support 108 iscoupled to hub 110 (not explicitly shown), and is then inserted througha penetration in inner circumferential support 106 and a correspondingpenetration in outer circumferential support 104 and is then secured bya nut 114 to outer circumferential support 104.

FIG. 7 is a top view of fan 100 showing blades 102 on top of outercircumferential support 104, inner circumferential support 106 andradial supports 108. As shown in FIG. 6, each radial support 108 iscoupled to hub 110, and is then inserted through a penetration in innercircumferential support 106 and a corresponding penetration in outercircumferential support 104 and is then secured by a nut 114 to outercircumferential support 104. Each blade is attached to outercircumferential support 104 and inner circumferential support 106 by asingle bolt or other suitable attachment at the leading edge.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a hub 110 in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure. Hub 110 includes nuts 802, whichare coupled to threads 804 of radial support 108. In one exemplaryembodiment, each radial support 108 is inserted through a hole in hub110, and nut 802 is then threaded on. Hub 110 further includes a shafthole 808 and four support screw holes 806 that are used to couple themotor shaft to hub 110.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of a hub 110 in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure. Hub 110 includes nuts 802, whichare coupled to threads 804 of radial support 108. Radial supports 108are threaded through penetrations in outer circumferential support 04and inner circumferential support 106, and are also coupled to outercircumferential support 104 by nuts 114.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merelyexamples of possible implementations. Many variations and modificationsmay be made to the above-described embodiments without departing fromthe principles of the present disclosure. All such modifications andvariations are intended to be included herein within the scope of thisdisclosure and protected by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fan comprising: an outer circumferentialsupport having a plurality of radial penetrations; an innercircumferential support having a plurality of radial penetrations; aplurality of blades, each coupled to the outer circumferential supportand the inner circumferential support; and a plurality of radialsupports, each radial support extending through a penetration of theinner circumferential support and a penetration of the outercircumferential support.
 2. The fan of claim 1 wherein the outercircumferential support is fabricated from aluminum.
 3. The fan of claim1 wherein the outer circumferential support is fabricated from hollowaluminum tubing.
 4. The fan of claim 1 wherein the outer circumferentialsupport is fabricated from hollow aluminum tubing having a squarecross-section.
 5. The fan of claim 1 wherein the inner circumferentialsupport is fabricated from aluminum.
 6. The fan of claim 1 wherein theinner circumferential support is fabricated from hollow aluminum tubing.7. The fan of claim 1 wherein the inner circumferential support isfabricated from hollow aluminum tubing having a square cross-section. 8.The fan of claim 1 wherein each blade is fabricated from aluminum. 9.The fan of claim 1 wherein each blade is fabricated from aluminum and iscoupled to the inner radial support by a bolt.
 10. The fan of claim 1wherein each blade is fabricated from aluminum and is coupled to theouter radial support by a bolt.
 11. The fan of claim 1 furthercomprising a fan motor coupled to the plurality of radial supports. 12.The fan of claim 1 further comprising: a fan motor coupled to a circularhub; and wherein the plurality of radial supports are coupled to thecircular hub.
 13. A method of manufacturing a fan comprising: threadinga plurality of radial supports through penetrations in an innercircumferential support and penetrations in an outer circumferentialsupport; securing the plurality of radial supports to the outercircumferential support; securing the plurality of radial supports to afan motor; and securing a plurality of fan blades to the innercircumferential support and the outer circumferential support.
 14. Themethod of claim 13 wherein securing the plurality of radial supports tothe fan motor comprises securing the fan motor to a circular hub. 15.The method of claim 13 wherein securing the plurality of radial supportsto the fan motor comprises: securing the fan motor to a circular hub;and securing the plurality of radial supports to the circular hub. 16.The method of claim 13 wherein securing the plurality of radial supportsto the outer circumferential support comprises bolting each of theradial supports to the outer circumferential support.
 17. The method ofclaim 13 wherein securing the plurality of fan blades to the innercircumferential support and the outer circumferential support comprisesbolting each of the fan blades to the inner circumferential support andthe outer circumferential support.
 18. A method of fabricating a fanthat has an outer circumferential support having a plurality of radialpenetrations, an inner circumferential support having a plurality ofradial penetrations, a plurality of blades, each coupled to the outercircumferential support and the inner circumferential support, aplurality of radial supports, each radial support extending through apenetration of the inner circumferential support and a penetration ofthe outer circumferential support, wherein the outer circumferentialsupport is fabricated from hollow aluminum tubing having a squarecross-section, wherein the inner circumferential support is fabricatedfrom hollow aluminum tubing having a square cross-section, wherein eachblade is fabricated from aluminum and is coupled to the inner radialsupport and the outer radial support by a bolt, a fan motor coupled to acircular hub and wherein the plurality of radial supports are coupled tothe circular hub, the method comprising: threading a plurality of radialsupports through penetrations in an inner circumferential support andpenetrations in an outer circumferential support; securing the pluralityof radial supports to the outer circumferential support; securing theplurality of radial supports to a fan motor; securing a plurality of fanblades to the inner circumferential support and the outercircumferential support; wherein securing the plurality of radialsupports to the fan motor comprises: securing the fan motor to acircular hub; and securing the plurality of radial supports to thecircular hub; wherein securing the plurality of radial supports to theouter circumferential support comprises bolting each of the radialsupports to the outer circumferential support; and wherein securing theplurality of fan blades to the inner circumferential support and theouter circumferential support comprises bolting each of the fan bladesto the inner circumferential support and the outer circumferentialsupport.